General Manager (GM)
1 day ago
Secaucus
Job Description General Manager (GM)—Ice Cream Brand Location: Hybrid / Flexible Reports to: CEO, Dotted Line to: CFO, COO, CSO Brand: Ice Cream & Snacks Culture Values: Hunger • Partnership • Humor • Quality About us We are a bold, indulgent ice cream and snacking brand, designed for a Gen Z, multicultural consumer who loves flavor, fun, and culture. With nationally distributed ice cream in Walmart and 7-Eleven, we are entering our third year with momentum — and a mandate to scale: more velocity, more trial, more awareness, more swag, more flavor. To drive our next stage of growth, we are hiring a General Manager to lead the business, manage daily operations, and accelerate commercial performance. Role Summary The General Manager is the business owner responsible for the brand's P&L, growth strategy, and commercial execution. This leader blends analytical rigor with cultural fluency, an operator's mindset with a marketer's eye, and the ability to work seamlessly across creators, retailers, partners, and the internal team. This role will oversee sales and marketing activation, retail execution, innovation, R&D partnership, financial performance, and day-to-day operations. Additionally, the GM will work directly with our team and investor partners to execute culturally relevant creative, experiential marketing, festival activations, and collaborations that recruit new fans and bring the brand's world to life. You are part operator, part marketer, part hustler — and fully accountable for taking our brand from strong distribution to strong velocity and brand heat. What You'll Do Commercial Leadership & Growth ? Own the P&L, growth plan, and commercial roadmap. ? Lead sales strategy and partner with Happi Co. Sales on national and local retailer plans, velocity drivers, distribution expansion, and trade investment. ? Develop annual and seasonal marketing plans built around Gen Z multicultural insights, flavor trends, and cultural relevance. ? Drive trial and velocity through high-ROI tactics, retailer-specific activations, and omnichannel campaigns. Marketing, Creative & Experiential Activation ? Work with our team to bring the brand to life across social, content, cultural moments, and talent-driven creative. ? Lead experiential activations including festivals, venues, concerts, sports arenas, and community events. ? Partner with internal and external creative teams on packaging, campaigns, digital content, and storytelling. ? Ensure all brand outputs remain aligned with our tone: bold, humorous, culturally fluent, and deliciously indulgent. Innovation & R&D Leadership ? Work with dedicated R&D to drive new flavors, formats, seasonal launches, and snack extensions. ? Own the innovation timeline, claims, naming, packaging strategy, and go-to-market plans. ? Identify “culturally hot” flavor ideas early and bring them to market with speed. Operations & Finance Partnership ? Partner with Happi Co. Operations on supply chain, demand planning, forecasting, and co-manufacturing. ? Collaborate with Finance on budgeting, performance analysis, margin improvement, and pricing strategy. ? Ensure the brand maintains strong operational performance as it grows distribution. Creator & Investor Collaboration ? Serve as the connective hub with our team and other investor partners on: ? Social media strategy ? Creative direction ? Product seeding and sampling ? Talent-driven marketing opportunities ? Cultural and entertainment touchpoints ? Translate creator opportunities into sales-driving business outcomes. International Expansion ? Partner with global distributors to explore and establish European distribution and other international opportunities. ? Adapt brand assets, packaging, and marketing to fit regional requirements while preserving cultural integrity. Leadership & Ownership ? Serve as the accountable leader for the brand internally and externally. ? Roll up your sleeves — you'll do the high-level strategy and the day-to-day hustle. ? Build a culture of speed, creativity, and excellence within the our business unit. ? Model Happi Co.'s core values of Hunger, Partnership, Humor, and Quality. Who You Are ? 8–12+ years of experience in CPG, ideally in ice cream, snacks, beverages, or youth-focused lifestyle brands but not mandatory. ? Strong commercial background — you've driven growth through both brand marketing and retail execution. ? Fluent in creator-driven business models, talent partnerships, or entertainment-led marketing. ? Highly cross-functional, capable of leading without authority and managing diverse stakeholders. ? Analytical, organized, and financially literate — comfortable with forecasts, P&Ls, and KPI dashboards. ? Creative, culturally aware, and tapped into Gen Z media, flavor trends, and community behavior. ? Comfortable building businesses in scrappy, fast-paced, high-energy environments. ? A natural relationship-builder who enjoys partnering with creators and their teams. * #IND1000